RTÉ wins grant for ‘big Saturday night entertainment show’

RTÉ has received a grant of 25,000 Swiss francs (€20,700) from a European Broadcasting Union (EBU) fund to develop a "big Saturday night entertainment show" called Total Recallers, which it is producing in-house.

At the moment, it is “a paper idea”, says RTÉ Television’s head of daytime and lifestyle Gráinne McAleer.

Although the funds grant will not cover the full cost of producing a pilot for the family variety game show, which tests the memory skills of participants, it will contribute to the budget.

The format has been developed by RTÉ producer Gráinne Ahern and was presented at the Eurovision Creative Days Forum in Berlin last week by McAleer and commissioning editor of arts Sarah Ryder.

This is the first time that the forum, which is open to public service broadcasters across Europe, has awarded funding for new format development.

RTÉ One series Whose Holiday Is It Anyway?, which is made for the channel by Coco Television, won Best European TV Format at the event, edging out more than 50 other submissions.

The format, which was developed through RTÉ’s Format Farm programme and already has an international distributor in DRG, has attracted interest from a number of markets including the US, Canada and Japan.

“It’s an affirmation that it’s a good format,” says McAleer of the win.

Following last December’s pilot, the first full series of the show, in which teenagers take over responsibility for planning their family’s holiday, is due to air later this year.